Lester And Sabathia Have Equal ERA+, Bon Jovi Bet Deadlocked

We've made the first turn of the 2009 season and while there are many interesting stories vying for our attention and bandwidth, you best believe that one unique WoW storyline I've had my eye on is the ERA+ battle between Jon Lester and CC Sabathia. I really really really don't want to be on YouTube singing Bon Jovi for eternity. Either fortunately or unfortunately based on your feelings about duets, both guys have equal ERA+. 99 y'alll!

But if you consider the company in which his early-season strikeout numbers leave him, you have to believe he's well on his way to better days. Tomorrow's Union Leader story will reference an elite group of pitchers -- nine in total -- who have a K/BB ratio of 3.0 or better and a K/9IP ratio of 9.0 or better. That means they're striking out more than a batter an inning and still striking out more than three times as many hitters as they're walking.
Here's the group:

* Zack Grienke, 0.40 ERA

* Johan Santana, 1.10 ERA

* Dan Haren, 1.47 ERA

* Erik Bedard, 2.61 ERA

(How come no one's talking about the start Bedard has had for the Mariners so far this season?)

* Tim Lincecum, 3.16 ERA

* Felix Hernandez, 3.38 ERA

* Javier Vazquez, 4.19 ERA

* Jon Lester, 5.11 ERA

* Justin Verlander, 5.66 ERA

A pretty compelling stat and a pretty good list to be on. The baserunners seem to be coming in clumps for Lester and he's given up a handful of big innings. Spreading that out will bring down those ERs allowed.

Using this metric, Carsten Charles is significantly lagging behind Lester at this admittedly early stage. Dude is rocking a mere 1.6 K/BB ratio and his current WHIP would be the highest of his career. He's a notoriously slow starter, but striking out 5.5 per 9 isn't exactly what the Yankees signed him for. But hey, they can do whatever they want with their money. It's their life.